Fang Qiao threw off the covers and got out of bed. Her body was heavy and cumbersome, and she was panting heavily just from getting out of bed.
A cold wind seeped into the room through the slightly ajar door, and Fang Qiao shivered, pulling another thick coat over her shoulders.
She put on her shoes, came out from the inner room, and immediately saw the iron stove behind the door.
The iron stove was square and upright, with a chimney that bent overhead and extended out of the window.
Upon seeing the familiar objects, Fang Qiao was immediately reminded of the past.
She is extremely sensitive to the cold in winter, with her hands and feet always freezing. When she sleeps alone, she often can't warm up her bed until late at night.
Cheng Baidong felt sorry for her and couldn't bear to see her suffer from the cold. Before leaving home, he specially exchanged industrial tickets with someone and used his connections to buy an iron stove from the city. This thing looked ugly and bulky, but it really cost him two months' allowance.
Cheng Baidong is an exceptionally good man, gentle and considerate, without a trace of male chauvinism.
Fang Qiao came from a bad family and never felt warmth growing up. So even though they were only married for three short years, most of which were spent in different places, she still remembered his kindness to her for a lifetime after they were separated by death for decades.
The better he was, the more guilty Fang Qiao felt, and the more unable she was to let go of the guilt.
She hated herself for being so powerless, unable to protect the house, the money, or even the only bloodline he left behind. She lived the rest of her life in misery.
Thinking of this, Fang Qiao's eyes gradually welled up with tears.
Fortunately, she has a second chance at life. This time, she will protect their daughter well, ensuring her safe birth and healthy growth.
Fang Qiao wiped away her tears, put on her apron, walked to the stove, looked down, and sure enough, there were no more sparks inside.
She moved a small stool and tried to light the stove.
Just then, the door to the main room was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Fang Qiao turned her head and saw a little girl wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket standing in front of the door.
The little girl looked about three or four years old, with fair skin but very thin. She had her hair tied in pigtails, but someone had pulled them apart, and her loose hair made her look quite disheveled.
The little girl's eyes were still brimming with tears, but she smiled happily when she saw Fang Qiao.
"Auntie, Auntie, you're awake."
She is Su Tang, Cheng Baidong's niece, nicknamed Tian Tian. She is the daughter left behind after his older sister died in childbirth.
Upon seeing Tian Tian, Fang Qiao was momentarily dazed until Tian Tian stepped forward and took her finger, at which point she came to her senses.
Yes.
She was reborn in the 1970s, when Tian Tian had not died young and was still a little girl.
Fang Qiao pulled Tian Tian into her arms, wiped away her tears with her fingers, and asked softly, "Tian Tian, why are you crying?"
"Auntie, you're asleep. Grandpa, the village chief, told me to come to Grandpa's house for lunch, but Grandma called me a debt collector and twisted my ear, trying to kick me out and not let me eat, waaaah..."
Sweetie pouted her little mouth in grievance, and tears streamed down her face.
Upon hearing this, Fang Qiao knew that it was something Huang Yan was capable of doing.
Her stepmother-in-law was a notorious wicked daughter-in-law in the village, petty and mean-spirited.
She was a stepmother, and fearing that hitting the children would ruin her reputation, she secretly prevented her two children from being properly fed.
She was illiterate and ignorant, and thought that once the door was closed, her family's affairs would not be known to the outside world. But in time, everyone knows who they are.
After all, her own two children are both healthy and chubby, while the two children left by his ex-wife are pale and thin. Outsiders aren't stupid; anyone with a brain can figure out what's going on.
But she was too proud to admit it, so she pretended to be kind and gentle, showing off everywhere that she was a good stepmother. Everyone in the surrounding villages laughed at her.
Fang Qiao looked at Tian Tian's ears with heartache, and sure enough, they were bright red.
Fang Qiao grabbed her hand, "Come on, Auntie will take you there."
Sweetie timidly hugged her leg and asked anxiously, "Will Grandma kick us out?"
"Her?" Fang Qiao snorted softly, then rubbed Tian Tian's ear to reassure her, "Don't worry, Tian Tian, with Auntie here, she won't rush you."
The house and money left behind by Cheng Baidong were like carrots dangling in front of a donkey. In order to rightfully seize the money and the house and avoid being gossiped about by the villagers, Huang Yan was furious inside, but she had to pretend to be all smiles on the surface.
Fang Qiao took Tian Tian's hand and went out. When they went down the steps, they stopped to take a look and made sure that the steps were clean and not icy before stepping on them.
It's not that she's cautious; the main reason is that in her past life, she slipped on ice in front of her house and fell, which led to her premature birth.
Looking back now, the appearance of the ice block that caused her to fall in her past life was truly bizarre.
She loved cleanliness, and she swept the yard and the front gate spotless every day, never leaving any standing water or ice. So why, on the very day the bad news came, did a large puddle of water inexplicably appear on the steps of the front gate, and then freeze over?
Her husband's accident had already put her in a state of anxiety, so she had no time to notice anything unusual about her front door. As a result, she fell victim to the trap.
In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, we must be cautious and never careless.
Fang Qiao took off her smock, locked the door, and took Tian Tian's hand as they walked into the back alley.
The two families' homesteads are not far apart; they can be reached by walking through the back alley and turning a corner.
In front of the Cheng family's house was a drainage ditch half a meter wide and deep. A crooked old locust tree was planted beside the ditch. Huang Yan had killed a chicken and was squatting on the ground using hot water to remove its feathers.
Seeing Fang Qiao leading the child over, Huang Yan's expression changed. She stopped removing the chicken feathers, stood up, picked up the basin, and went into the house.
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